CPA firm moving to Ashforth's 3001 Stamford Square

Richard Lee

Published 10:34 pm, Tuesday, March 25, 2014

The Ashforth Co. is starting to reel in tenants at 3001 Summer St., in Stamford. Less than a month after Pitney Bowes signed a lease for about 74,000 square feet of space for its new headquarters on the top two floors, Ashforth has announced that O'Connor Davies, a regional certified public accounting and consulting firm, will lease 11,000 square feet on the fifth floor.

O'Connor Davies will move its staff of nearly 40 employees from its Stamford office at 62 Southfield Ave., in July, and Pitney Bowes will move from 1 Elmcroft Road in Stamford in late summer.

O'Connor Davies includes more than 500 professionals led by 84 partners in seven offices located in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.

"We were impressed by the quality of the building at 3001 Summer St. and the amenities it has to offer. The location is ideal for our continued growth in southwestern Connecticut. The Ashforth Co. has a great reputation in the community, and we are looking forward to joining their portfolio of A-list tenants," said Bruce Blasnik, partner-in-charge of the Stamford office of O'Connor Davies.

O'Connor Davies had already decided to move when Pitney Bowes' relocation was announced, he said, but the venerable Stamford company's decision enhances the building's prominence.

"We considered a number of properties in the region. We looked for several months. The location is terrific for our employees. Our lease was up, and we absolutely needed to expand," said Blasnik, commenting that the firm has had an office at the Southfield Avenue complex for more than 15 years.

The move of O'Connor Davies and Pitney Bowes comes after Ashforth, which owns and manages the building, completed at the end of 2012 a multi-million dollar renovation designed by Roger Ferris + Partners of Westport.

The property consists of 290,000 square feet of office space on seven floors with four levels of underground parking. Known as 3001 Stamford Square, the building also offers a private shuttle to and from the Stamford train station.

"It (the renovation) is a testament to the landlord to make that type of commitment to an asset, especially in the market we've been in. It's going to be an asset that stands out when you go on the building tour. I think they (Ashforth) have cleared the hurdle," McCarthy said, referring to the improvements and its growing list of tenants.

The addition of O'Connor Davies adds to an impressive tenant portfolio, said Darrell Harvey, co-CEO of The Ashforth Co. Other tenants include KPMG, Genworth and Navigators.

"The O'Connor Davies and Pitney Bowes leases confirm our belief that with our recent extensive improvements, the building's central location, premier amenities and highly responsive on-site management, tenants would continue to find 3001 very attractive in today's changing work environment," said Richard Battista, executive vice president of The Ashforth Co., in prepared comments.